20
Ember
After a few minutes in the underground passage, I feel less feverish, although the unpleasant tingling persists. The distance between the hall of worship and me certainly has something to do with it.
How did these people know that the dead could enter these walls? There”s no answer to this question—this simple spell alone proves that these monks aren’t what they seem! If they protect themselves from specters, it”s because they”re involved in many deaths. And most likely in mine...
Now that I”ve come to my senses, I”m feeling a little apprehensive. Where has Believ gone? Why isn”t she back?
I can”t quite grasp the rhythm of time, so I don”t know whether she left me a few minutes or several hours ago. And all this for what? To find a body that I can no longer inhabit, at the risk of losing her own life!
This reality hits me hard. Why would she make such a sacrifice when I”m already dead? It just doesn”t make sense.
I must find her and rescue her from the clutches of these unscrupulous monks!
I leave the underground passage and enter the suffocating basement. A strange atmosphere reigns here, a heavy feeling that creeps over me in addition to the horrible sensation resulting from the protection spell. Where do I go from here?
I re-attach myself to the bond with Believ, the one I mentally forged when we first met, and make my way through the gleaming stone corridors.
Soon there is a rumbling sound, preceded by sharp, peremptory words.
“You”re no longer the leader this Brotherhood needs,” thunders a voice. “And if you”re not, you don”t belong here!”
A wave of protest breaks out.
Those to whom these words are addressed are clearly outraged at being sidelined in this way.
I enter the room and feel Believ”s presence. She”s no longer here, but she has been here.
“Brother David. Your turn.”
Though calmly pronounced, these words have the effect of a cleaver. The room falls silent. And before I know what they mean, one of the monks pulls a gun from the belt of his habit and, without the slightest hesitation, shoots the man standing in front of him.
The victim collapses without a word. There isn’t a sound to disturb the silence of the audience, only the imperceptible rustling of the fabric of his clothes and the dull thump of his body on the parquet floor of the podium.
His supporters are dumbfounded, frozen in front of the monks who adopt the triumphant posture of vile conquerors.
“You!” commands the giver of orders. “Step right up.”
A blond man in his forties takes a few halting steps. Now that he stands out from the mass of his peers, I can make out a strange tattoo on his arm that reminds me of something. Where have I seen this before?
“By the powers of the Holy Church vested in me, I appoint you as the successor. You will be the new Guide of this Brotherhood.”
“Me?” he wonders aloud. “I”m just another Sin Eater, Your Holiness.”
What a pompous title!
The other sweeps his words aside with a dismissive gesture.
“Now you know what risks you run if your order deviates from the mission we”ve assigned it, don”t you?”
The blond nods, jaw clenched.
“So I have no doubt you”ll keep it on track.” A perverse smile stretches across his face. How can a religious man be so full of deceit?
“I”ll do my best,” confirms the blond man, miming a low bow.
“I know you will.”
Once again, silence spreads through the room with the speed of a pandemic. There”s nothing serene about it; the things left unsaid overwhelm it, and so does the tension.
I got caught up in what”s going on here, but I don”t care what happens to these people. And if they”re enough of a distraction to take attention away from Believ, then all the better.
I leave the room without a backward glance and go back in search of the one who haunts my mind.
If through any fault of mine something were to happen to her, I wouldn”t survive it...